Caring For Your Tomatoes
Raise your hand if you love growing tomatoes. We see you out there! We’re raising our hands too! If you haven’t yet planted your tomatoes for the season, you need to finish reading this (while putting your shoes on at the same time) and head directly to the local nursery. There’s no time to waste!
Now that your tomatoes are planted, one of the most frequent questions clients have is how do I care for them. Well, we’ve got your answer.
Pruning Tomatoes
You are going to want to get comfortable with pruning your tomatoes the next couple of months, especially the indeterminate varieties. (Need to know the difference between determinate and indeterminate, read our January blog).
When we prune our tomatoes, we reduce the potential for plant disease and help the plant use its energy to produce fruit rather than leaves. Your role as tomato caretaker will be to keep 18” clear from soil to the first leaves. Do not let tomato leaves sit on the soil. Use SHARP, clan pruners when snipping stems.
Pruning branches will also help with airflow. Our tomato plants can get BIG!! Use the tiny sucker as your guide~ clip the stem right below it! Don't prune the suckers as they are fruit bearing (see pic below). Tomato suckers grow in the V space between the main stem and the branches of the tomato plant. It is controversial on whether to prune the suckers or not, but we have had the best production by NOT pruning the suckers.
Pruning can become fun and addictive. Just make sure that you never clip more than 30% of any plant at one time, or you’ll send it into shock (imagine cutting your bangs halfway up your forehead, instead of just dusting the ends. SHOCK!!!! Same for tomatoes).
Supporting Your Tomatoes
Tomatoes grow FAST! Remember to check on them every few days and tie them with twine to your trellis as they get bigger and need additional support. Nothing is sadder than seeing a broken branch after a windy day.
Pest Check
Next, when caring for tomatoes, look for pests. Aphids love tomato plants. Caterpillars love tomato plants. Things that don’t belong on your tomato plants love tomato plants. Check both sides of the leaves. If you see bugs, manually remove them, clip the stem with affected leaves, or use the hose to spray them away (we don’t love that method since we really prefer to keep water off the leaves!). You can also buy Neem Oil or Insecticidal Soap to spray directly onto leaves / pests.
A helpful app for pest identification is called INSECT ID. You snap a photo and the insect will be identified within seconds. This app is not always 100% correct on identification, but as you begin to use it and recognize insects, it will prove to be helpful.
Harvesting
Our wish is for you to have a salad with fresh garden tomatoes this Spring. Don’t be afraid to prune. Remember, if you don’t have luck with tomatoes this Spring, you get a second chance at a Fall harvest by planting tomatoes again in late August/early September.
